The mischievous speck of light ran away coolly from under the bright tiles of Taiji Palace. Passing through the heavy wooden doors of the rear palace, it ran into Hanguang Palace, burrowed into Shufang Palace, circled a few times under the slightly scarred tree, and finally hid in Guangxin Palace, which no one had lived in for a long time. Even in the slightly dry autumn wind, Guangxin Palace continued to emit a faint and bitter coldness. The white curtains in the Palace had long become broken and brittle muslin. There were plum blossoms but no people. They only shone brilliantly. Even when they bloomed to the point of decay, they were still lonely.
Compared to the quiet back palace, the Imperial City around the front hall did not match the light atmosphere of the Imperial Palace. Especially inside the Green Stone Imperial City, in the room deep under the vermillion red palace wall, there was a solemn atmosphere. A few cold-eyed generals stood guard outside the room, but inside the room, it was unknown what they were talking about.
"I wonder when the Great Prince will return." General Gong Dian, who had resumed his position as Commander of the Imperial Army and was in charge of the safety of the entire Royal Palace, stood by the person's side.
There were not many people in this world who could make Gong Dian stand so obediently by his side. The person at the table was one of them. The Head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, who had rendered meritorious service during the Jingdou rebellion and was now appointed by the Emperor to control the armies of the world, Commander Ye stroked his teacup with one hand. His eyes appeared slightly serious. He didn't speak for a long time.
"Brother?" Perhaps this kind of silence was difficult for Gong Dian to endure. In the end, he couldn't resist reminding him.
"Oh." Ye Zhong seemed to wake from his thoughts and replied, "Director Fan junior will be returning to the capital in a few days. If the Great Prince wants to return, it will be at least the beginning of spring."
He glanced at Gong Dian. A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes. A moment later, he said in a low voice, "What exactly do you want to ask? Even if the Great Prince returns to the capital, presumably he will immediately be transferred to Yanjing by the Emperor to prepare for the Northern expedition. What exactly do you want to ask? "
Gong Dian was silent. He and Ye Zhong were both the Emperor's trusted aides. However, although the entire Royal Palace appeared peaceful this afternoon, there was a murderous intent hidden within it that he was not used to. He faintly guessed that this murderous intent had something to do with the major figure who had just left Jingdou not long ago. Otherwise, his senior brother would not have been overseeing matters in the Bureau of Military Affairs. Instead, he calmly waited outside the Royal Palace for an entire day.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Gong Dian.
"I'm waiting for His Majesty's decree." After Ye Zhong said this, he remembered that the Emperor was currently making a decision. A trace of anxiety and uneasiness appeared in his eyes. With Ye Chong's status and power, there were few things in the world that could make him feel this way. He closed his eyes slowly, not wanting Gong Dian to see this.
However, Gong Dian had already seen it and knew that he had guessed correctly. Inside and outside the Royal Palace, it appeared peaceful. In reality, undercurrents were surging. The defense level of the entire Imperial Army had been raised to its most tense state. Gong Dian had only accepted orders from the internal court. He didn't know what the Emperor deep in the Palace was guarding against. Immediately after, the Imperial Army received a seal from the Jingdou Garrison. Only then did they know that Shi Fei had led 15,000 Jingdou Garrison soldiers and spread out in a formation along the south side of Jingdou. It seemed to be a drill, but it also seemed like they were preparing for a major battle.
The Bureau of Military Affairs also moved. The internal court also moved. In the streets and alleys of Jingdou, various factions began to prepare.
To be able to move so much military power and arrange such a large formation within one day, it could only be the Qing Emperor alone. In the present world, there was only one person who was worthy of the Emperor's serious and careful treatment and who had the power to make the Emperor expend so much energy.
Only that person could make Ye Zhong, the Head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, unable to stop his uneasiness and anxiety as he waited for the Emperor's final decree.
All sorts of situations interweaved together. Gong Dian finally confirmed that the Emperor was going to act against Director Chen.
…
…
"Why?" Gong Dian's throat was a bit dry. He sat down by Ye Zhong's side and raised his cup of cold tea to drink it in one gulp. However, it did not extinguish the burning fear in his heart.
The Imperial Army protecting the Palace, the movement of the Garrison, and the Bureau of Military Affairs were, without question, arrangements aimed at the Overwatch Council in Jingdou. Regardless of whether it was the Emperor, Commander Ye Zhong, or Gong Dian, once they thought that the person they were going to deal with was Chen Pingping, none of them had complete confidence. Only these people at the very top of the Qing Kingdom knew what kind of power Chen Pingping, this skinny old cripple, had in his hands. Although he was no longer the Director of the Overwatch Council, he had been the King in the darkness of the land for decades. Once he was in a dangerous situation, who knew what kind of power he would explode with?
What made Gong Dian feel the most terrified, uneasy, and even faintly angry at the Emperor was that he could not find any reason or reason why the court wanted to deal with Director Chen.
Was it just because his achievements shocked the Emperor? This made no sense at all. If he had considered this, perhaps the Emperor would have killed Chen Pingping 20 years ago. Did Chen Pingping have disloyalty? Everyone under heaven knew that Director Chen was the most loyal official at the Emperor's side. If it weren't for him, the Emperor would have died countless times back then.
Why? This was the explanation Gong Dian needed to hear the most. He began to feel that the Emperor was too muddleheaded. Regardless of what the people thought of the Overwatch Council or Chen Pingping, the Overwatch Council was the Emperor's special agency. Chen Pingping had always been the Emperor's loyal dog. For the Emperor to risk the danger of court chaos to do such an unreasonable thing, if it wasn't muddleheaded, what was it?
Ye Zhong sat by the little table and was silent for a long time without saying a word. Of course, he knew why Gong Dian had lost his composure. Even though he had countless soldiers in his hands, he knew that he was dealing with Chen Pingping and the entire Overwatch Council. In the depths of his heart, he still felt a tremor and fear.
Chen Pingping's reputation was too great. The things in his head were not things that normal officials could understand. Decades of history had long proven that anyone who used crafty plots and schemes to deal with Chen Pingping, in the end, would not meet a good end.
Xiao En at his peak was one of them. The rebellions of the Eldest Princess and the old Qin family became a joke under the combined efforts of Director Chen and the Emperor. Ye Zhong took a deep breath.
There was a hint of unswerving determination in the darkness of his square face. "What you need to do is to protect the safety of the Royal Palace. What I need to do, without question, is to stabilize the Qing Kingdom's army. As for those other things, naturally, someone will do it."
"You must act. Otherwise, the Emperor would not have summoned you here today." Gong Dian glanced at his brother disciple with a face full of worry. He didn't feel good in his heart. Back then, Chen Pingping had been able to place a 20-year spy in the old Qin family. Who knew who in the Ye family or even the most reliable Dingzhou army were Chen Pingping's people?
"The Emperor is muddleheaded." Gong Dian thought that if the Emperor truly broke off relations with Director Chen, no matter what the final outcome was, the entire Qing court would suffer irreversible damage because of this turmoil.
"The Overwatch Council might not rebel …" Ye Zhong closed his eyes tightly and faintly said, "The Emperor must have his own way of controlling the Overwatch Council."
Gong Dian only shook his head. Although in his heart, the Emperor was the most powerful person in the world and most worthy of loyalty and worship, Chen Pingping was, without question, the most powerful person hidden in the darkness. The Overwatch Council was not so easy to control. Immediately after, he thought of another terrifying matter.
"If the old Director is truly captured and brought back to Jingdou," Gong Dian stared into Ye Zhong's eyes and said through gritted teeth, "what will Sir Fan junior do? The Emperor is muddleheaded! "
This was the third time he had said the Emperor was muddleheaded. As a loyal official, Gong Dian's reaction was indeed a bit big. However, this could not be blamed on him. Anyone who knew the true movements of the court would feel a chill from the bottom of their hearts.
If this operation was targeted at Chen Pingping, it was the same as targeting the Overwatch Council.
"Fan Xian?" Ye Zhong suddenly opened his eyes and coldly said, "He has probably just left Dongyi. Once the ship has sailed, what can he change? Even if Chen Pingping has the grace of passing on his legacy to him, in the end, this is the Emperor's will. As a son, would Fan Xian have the desire to avenge his father because of an old superior? "
Gong Dian thought about it carefully and slowly nodded his head. These two important military officials only thought that Fan Xian being able to take control of the Overwatch Council was the Emperor's will and that Chen Pingping had only played the role of passing on help and guidance. They had completely not thought of Fan Xian's feelings for Chen Pingping or the story this matter involved many years ago.
"Shi Fei has already brought the Jingdou Garrison South," Ye Zhong slowly said. Ye Chong spoke slowly, "I only hope that this incident will cause as little commotion as possible."
"Impossible." Gong Dian very straightforwardly shattered Commander Ye's fantasies. They were all officials of the Qing Kingdom. They all hoped that the Qing Kingdom would be able to maintain stability and harmony while the present situation was good. They all hoped that the Qing Kingdom could move steadily and powerfully toward its most glorious day. However, everyone knew that the battle between the Emperor and Chen Pingping would certainly create a large chasm in this country.
"I don't know what His Majesty is thinking." Ye Chong's expression was steely as he said word by word, "I only know that if Your Majesty wants to arrest Director Chen, the Director must have done something."
Gong Dian shook his head. "I don't think so."
…
…
If the Qing Kingdom's great Emperor was like a god in the sunlight, unattainable, dazzling, and ruling over the world, then the Qing Kingdom's great Emperor was like a god in the sun. Then, Chen Pingping, who had controlled the Overwatch Council for decades, was like a king in the darkness. He had always carefully hidden behind the Emperor's light and helped the Emperor complete some things that were inconvenient for him to do. He helped the Qing Kingdom control some things in the darkness.
For decades, the Qing court had always advanced in the struggle between the civil official system and the Overwatch Council. Regardless of whether it was the powerful Prime Minister Lin Ruofu or the Hall of Governmental Affairs and Imperial Censorate later, no one could shake Chen Pingping's position in court. No one could decrease the Emperor's imperial favor and trust in Chen Pingping.
The officials had long gotten used to this and had already given up hope. They thought that the Emperor and Chen Pingping were an anomaly between ruler and official. Perhaps they would know each other until their hair turned white and then until they died of old age. It would still be this interweaving of light and darkness. The mutual trust between ruler and official was truly a match made in heaven.
That was why Gong Dian was afraid and why Ye Zhong was worried. They didn't dare to imagine how much terrifying energy would be drawn out once the light and darkness clashed. That energy was probably not something that could be resolved by a large army pressing down on a city.
Shi Fei, who knew the inside story and was heading southeast of Jingdou, was the person with the heaviest heart. Like Gong Dian, he could not understand why the Emperor was acting against old Director Chen. The old Director had clearly resigned from all his posts and wanted to return to his hometown to retire. Why was the Emperor acting now? Most importantly, why was it him?
Shi Fei thought of how he was going to face Chen Pingping. Even though he was flying in the warm autumn wind, he couldn't help but shiver. He would rather face the murderous Barbarians of Xi Hu and Shang Shanhu, who used troops like a god in Northern Qi, than face the old cripple who only had a few hundred people at his side and a few dozen women.
He led 4,000 elite soldiers and had long arrived on a mountain not far from Dazhou. He waited nervously and helplessly for that moment to arrive. Fortunately, the Emperor had never made the edict clear. He didn't need to send out troops now. He hoped he would never have to send out troops. He was waiting for the Emperor to change his mind so that he could protect his own life.
From the moment General Shi Fei left the city to capture Director Chen and bring him back to the capital, he already had the self-awareness to exchange his life for it.
He sat on his horse and gazed back in the direction of Jingdou. His eyes narrowed slightly, he secretly prayed that the Emperor's final edict would never come.
…
…
Eunuch Yao stood quietly in the royal study. His trembling words earlier were just his duty as a servant. Like all of the generals, officials, and servants in the Qing Kingdom, he also didn't want to see the Emperor and Director Chen fall out.
After Hong Siyang, Eunuch Yao, who had become the Qing court's leader, knew too much inside information. He also thought he knew why the Emperor had suddenly developed such a powerful killing intent toward Director Chen. Thus, he only stood nervously and uneasily to the side, not daring to say anything.
The Emperor was still thinking. Earlier, a glimmer of bewilderment had involuntarily risen in his eyes. For him, whose heart was like the sky, this kind of bewilderment was an emotion that hadn't appeared in many years. Perhaps only Chen Pingping, who had accompanied him since he was a child, who had always been loyal to him, who had saved his life many times, opened mountains for the Qing Kingdom, and made countless contributions, could cause him to sink into such emotions.
A few thin files were placed on the table in front of him. One was the internal court's investigation into the Third Prince's strange assassination deep in the Palace during the Jingdou rebellion. Another was the secret investigation into the Hanging Temple matter, particularly the dispute between the true head of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, the Shadow, and Sigu Jian in the manor of the Master of the City in Dongyi this spring. The third was Fan Xian secretly sending the heavily injured Shadow to Jiangnan. The fourth was the strangeness of the Overwatch Council on the day of the attack on Fan Xian in the valley, as well as the process of when the two city-guarding crossbows were shipped out of the Third Workshop of the palace treasury.
The fourth investigation file was the thickest, but the things recorded were also the most vague. The internal court and court had secretly investigated for a full three years. In front of the Overwatch Council and under Chen Pingping's purposeful concealment, the Qing Emperor had only found a hint and no concrete evidence. This file talked about the fire in Huichun Hall in Jingdou and the defection of someone in the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council. The matter pointed straight to the inner palace, the Crown Prince, the Eldest Princess, and that stormy night.
There was a fifth, sixth …
"The Third Prince, the Second Prince, Chengqian, Yunrui …" The Emperor's face was slightly pale. He picked up a thin file and placed it to the side. Then, he would say a name. He threw down four files and said four names.
In the end, he picked up a few files. His fingers tightened slightly as he gently placed them to the side. With a sigh, he said, "This is An Zhi."
The Emperor slowly raised his head. The confusion in his eyes had long disappeared. There was only a faint trace of sorrow and a self-mocking cold smile. "My most loyal official once tried to kill all of my sons. Perhaps it should be said that he forced me to kill my sons."
His brows furrowed. "What surprises me the most is that this old dog didn't even let An Zhi go. If An Zhi's life had not been strong, he would probably have died to his hands long ago."
The Qing Emperor slowly shook his head and took a deep breath. A cold light flashed through his eyes. Faintly, he said, "Bring that old dog back. I want to ask him what exactly is going on."
Eunuch Yao did not dare to say more. He bowed deeply and walked out of the royal study. His legs were about to give out because he understood the Emperor's emotions better than anyone else. The Emperor's last faint words were filled with too much unstoppable killing intent.
As he was about to leave the royal study, the Emperor suddenly said coldly, "Send a message to Yan Bingyun. Tell him I am watching him. Then, send a message to Shi Fei. I want him alive. "
The Emperor's expression remained cold. "If that old dog dies, he doesn't need to come back alive to see me!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
